Hei conversion troubleshooting

The new mechanical regulator looked to be good quality. Said made in USA on the back. Did not fix the problem. Steady 16-17v now and it smoked a bit when first hooked up. Again, unhooking field wire and voltage went back down to 13.5-14 (battery voltage from the overcharging condition).

I don't think there is significant harness drop, with a lead on both the ign terminal (blue wires) of the VR to the battery positive showed 0.3 volts. Separate multimeters hooked to both while running (only way I could do it hands free) showed voltage staying very close throughout running conditions as I diagnosed other stuff.

I also disconnected the field wire from both ends (to rule out problems in wiring harness) and ran a jumper from VR field terminal to alternator field terminal. No difference, still wants to charge 16+ volts.

Last night, when I put the new distributor in, the car was running good. Have changed nothing since then but the VR, and the car is back to running like ****. Rough idle, won't rev without backfiring. So I think its a safe bet the ignition module got fried with the overvoltage. This is very frustrating.
Next, I guess its time for a new battery and alternator.